Olson hits 1,000 career points
JWP Bulldog fans cheer as Katie Olson sank a free throw against NRHEG for her 1,000th career point Friday night, February 9.
Sophomore Katie Olson has proven to be a valuable player for the JWP girls’ basketball program, which has been on the rise in the past few seasons.
But JWP’s second victory against NRHEG could not have been a better time for her to hit the 1,000-point milestone in her young career.
After the game, she spent nearly half an hour taking photos with family and friends. Some had to wait for photo sessions until after the boys’ game that night. It was clear that she had a lot of support for her achievement.
The first thing she did when asked about her initial thoughts on hitting the milestone was pay tribute to her late father, Lyncon Olson. “He’s the one who got me where I am,” she said.
She also had a lot of people to thank, including her other family members, for supporting her and other coaches. “I have to start with coaches from my youth: Ben Wheelock and Beth Weimert. I also have to thank my mom, my sisters — including Emily, who’s part of the coaching staff for us this year and does a lot for me — Coach Goebel, and all my teammates.”
It’s not often that someone can say they’ve had their sisters practically involved in their entire career thus far. As she mentioned, her oldest sister, Emily, is an assistant coach. Senior Ali Olson has been around since the beginning of her career, and she also had the chance to play with Faith, who graduated last year and was often a top-two scorer for the girls’ basketball team.
“I’ve always looked up to them,” she said. “Emily scored her 1,000 points in St. Clair. Once I saw her do that, it became a dream of mine to accomplish that. Looking up to them has helped me get to where I am.”
It’s pretty clear that with all the great things this team has accomplished, this season is special. “It always makes me happy to see my teammates do well,” she said. “Nevaeh had a great night hitting 28 points, and that’s not easy to do. I love cheering them on while they’re accomplishing their goals.”
We’d be remiss not to give former head coach Cory Jans some credit. “I’m thankful to Coach Jans for believing in me as an eighth-grader and seeing the potential in me being able to play on varsity.”
She also gave due credit to current head coach Brandon Goebel. “He’s worked hard this season to get us where we are. He continues to see our team’s potential and puts his best effort into everything he does.”
Coach Goebel is continually impressed with what Olson does on the court. “It’s impressive to do that as a sophomore,” he said. “The things she does for our team, and in general…she deserves this. She’s a great leader, works extremely hard in practice every day, and brings energy to our team. She always helps pick up girls when they’re feeling down, and it’s awesome to see her get the recognition.
“It’s also great to see her get that 1,000-point milestone so early in her career,” he continued. “Now she doesn’t have to worry about when she’ll hit it, and she can just play.”
Olson shared that same sentiment. When asked if the next milestone for her was 1,500 or potentially 2,000, her response was, “Honestly, my next goal is getting us far in the playoffs.”
Spoken like a true leader.
